Contributions to the theory of natural selection. A series of essays ... By Alfred Russel Wallace ...

CREATION BY LAW. 295
existed in a solid state 500,000,000 of years, and
that therefore time would not suffice for the slow process of development of all living organisms-it is
hardly necessary to reply, as it cannot be seriously
contended, even if this calculation has claims to approximate accuracy, that the process of change and
development may not have been sufficiently rapid to
have occurred within that period. His objection to
the Classification argument is, however, more plausible. The uncertainty of opinion among Naturalists
as to which are species and which varieties, is one of
Mr. Darwin's very strong arguments that these two
names cannot belong to things quite distinct in nature
and origin. The Reviewer says that this argument is of
no weight, because the works of man present exactly
the same phenomena; and he instances patent inventions, and the excessive difficulty of determining whether
they are new or old. I accept the analogy though it
is a very imperfect one, and maintain that such as it
is, it is all in favour of Mr. Darwin's views. For
are not all inventions of the same kind directly affiliated to a common ancestor? Are not improved Steam
Engines or Clocks the lineal descendants of some existing Steam Engine or Clock? Is there ever a new
Creation in Art or Science any more than in Nature?
Did ever patentee absolutely originate any complete
and entire invention, no portion of which was derived
from anything that had been made or described before? It is therefore clear that the difficulty of distinguishing the various classes of inventions which